


On the Edge of Summer

by Solanaceae



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Epistolary, F/F, Innumerable Stars 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solanaceae/pseuds/Solanaceae
Summary: A daughter of Aragorn and Arwen writes to her sister from Near Harad, where she is to wed a princess of that land.





	On the Edge of Summer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elleth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elleth/gifts).



> I hope you like!

Arodien—

Gahana is a bright, hot land, and it is strange to be here at the turn of autumn and have nothing but sun and sun and sun. They say this is the hottest part of the year, and I wonder what prompted them to invite me here  _ now _ , into this suffocating heat. Perhaps it is their way of testing my endurance. Urvi says I am holding up well, though I recall when the princess of Near Harad came to Minas Tirith in the dead of winter in her red veils and never shivered, even through the biting snow.

Ah, but if I am not careful, this letter will turn all to longing for that very winter. The dying of the year 53 was a strange time—not the least for having to transition from captain of the army to a pretty face to be married off. You put up with far more woeful proclamations from me than an elder sister ought to, and for that you have my gratitude. I also recall several times you eased tensions between me and Urvi—Mother says you were born to be a diplomat, as Eldarion was born to be king, Aradien to be whatever it is she is today (happy, I hope, with her Corsair lover), and I to be… a soldier, I believed, but perhaps the lot of princess does not suit me as poorly as I once thought it did. 

Urvi’s family has welcomed me with open arms. She is, of course, the only child of the king of Gahana, and Valin dotes on her ever so dearly. She is in her element here: I have seen her observatory, built at the very top of the fortress, and the library she has amassed of texts written in many languages, dealing with astronomy and mathematics and literature. If you had told me a year ago that the Haradrim had such learning, such erudition, I doubt I would have believed it. Urvi is showing me all sorts of things I had thought impossible.

We marry within the week, and that is something that is still strange to write, let alone speak. I will be her wife, and she will be mine, and thus the peace between Gondor and Near Harad will be solidified. It is far more complicated than that, of course, and I know that—but I have always lived a life in service of the Reunited Kingdoms, whether as soldier or captain or now, wife. I would say it is an honor to help to end the last conflicts of the War. Somewhere in me, it would even ring true. Another part of me grows weary of setting myself aside for the realm.

But Arodien, I am beyond fortunate to marry Urvi, if I am to marry anyone. You remember how I struggled, at first, to speak to her without offending. (I lack the diplomatic talents you were so generously blessed with.) But she has been patient and forgiving, and to see her now in her homeland—I am a soldier, and my way with words is rough despite all my tutoring, but she is a flower or a flame in this desert, bright and petaled and—oh, this is making no sense. Urvi is beautiful, and not only because of her form and her features, but because she burns like a star fallen to the earth.

She told me about how, when lightning strikes in the desert, it turns the sand around it to glass. I told her that it reminded me of her, and she laughed. Strange to think of how much I treasure that laugh these days. I dreaded fulfilling this treaty, once, but now I look forward to marrying her. I want to see her in the traditional wedding garments of this land, and when we return to Minas Tirith, I want our wedding there to be the best we can offer. 

I know that you are laughing reading this, dear sister, and yes, I admit it—you told me that I would grow to like Urvi, that this treaty would not be as onerous as it first seemed. You were right, as ever.

Urvi is calling me away to look at something through her telescope, and I would hate to keep her waiting. I will send this letter along as soon as I can, but by the time you read this, I will have already married this woman with stars in her voice and the sun in her eyes. And I will, I think, be very happy. 

Your sister, always,

Gaelien

**Author's Note:**

> "Gahana" is the name I settled on for Near Harad in their tongue, it translates to "jewel". This was going to be WAY longer but the deadline punched me in the face so I did this as a sort of preview (though it's obviously self-contained and complete in itself). But do keep an eye out for the expansion because I'm already 5k words into it and so I HAVE to finish it.


End file.
